Saturday, September 3, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
2020 Olympics: Six cities lodge bids for the games
2020 Olympics: Submitting bids to the International Olympic Committee by Friday's deadline were Rome; Madrid; Tokyo; Istanbul; Doha, Qatar; and Baku, Azerbaijan.
Six cities from Europe, Asia and the Middle East are competing to host the 2020 Olympics.
Submitting bids to the International Olympic Committee by Friday's deadline were Rome; Madrid; Tokyo; Istanbul; Doha, Qatar; and Baku, Azerbaijan.
There were no surprises, as all six cities had previously announced their candidacies.
IN PICTURES: Crazy Olympics Fans.
All six contenders have made previous bids, and two — Rome and Tokyo— have hosted the Olympics before.
Madrid is bidding for a third consecutive time, while Tokyo, Doha and Baku are making their second successive attempts. It is Istanbul's fifth overall bid.
Doha is proposing to hold the games in September and October, outside the traditional July-August dates, to avoid the blistering summer temperatures in the Gulf country.
National Olympic committees had until Friday to notify the IOC of the names of any applicant cities.
The IOC will select the host city by secret ballot on Sept. 7, 2013, in Buenos Aires.
The six candidates must first submit detailed application files and letters of guarantee to the IOC by Feb. 15. The IOC executive board will meet in May to decide whether to cut any of the cities and approve a list of finalists.
Final bid dossiers will be submitted in January 2013, followed by visits to the cities by an IOC evaluation commission from February to April.
The IOC panel will issue a report assessing the technical merits of the bids at least one month before the vote. The cities will also make technical presentations to the IOC ahead of the meeting in Buenos Aires.
"Clearly the bids that begin with the most strength are Madrid, Rome and Tokyo, cities that are consolidated as three great urban centers," said Spanish IOC member Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., son of the former IOC president and a key figure in the Spanish capital's candidacy.
British bookmaker William Hill installed Tokyo as the 2-1 favorite, followed by Rome and Madrid at 9-4, Istanbul 6-1, and Doha and Baku 14-1.
IN PICTURES: Crazy Olympics Fans
Rome, which hosted the 1960 Olympics, was the first of the cities to announce its bid months ago. The Italian capital lost to Athens in the race for the 2004 Olympics and hopes to stage the games on the 60th anniversary of the '60 Games.
Alaska Earthquake: 7.1 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Alaska, Tsunami Warning Issued
A strong subsea 7.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded near the Fox Islands, a group of islands in eastern Aleutian Islands in Alaska on early Friday, September 2, 2011 at about 1:55 AM Alaska time (11:55 AM GMT), several international news sites reported that day.
According to United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake struck at a depth of 35.5 km. Its epicenter was located 45 km (27 miles) SW of Amukta Island, Alaska; 85 km (52 miles) SW of Yunaska Island, Alaska; 1658 km (1030 miles) WSW of Anchorage, Alaska; and 2410 km (1497 miles) W of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada.
Reports said that a tsunami warning has been issued which affects coastal areas of Alaska from Unimak Pass, Alaska (80 miles NE of Dutch Harbor) to Amchitka Pass, Alaska (125 miles W of Adak).
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries caused by this earthquake.
Update: The magnitude of this earthquake has been downgraded to 6.8 by USGS.
Audrina Patridge Not Planning Any More Reality Shows, Shoots Down Plastic Surgery Rumors
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Audrina Patridge is moving on from reality TV.
The bikini babe said it appears that her days as the star of the VH1 reality show, "Audrina," are over.
PLAY IT NOW: Audrina Patridge Bringing 'Tears,' 'Joy' & 'Boys' On New Reality Show
"No, I don't think we are," she told The Daily, of filming another season. "We finished in April and I kind of decided I wanted to take some time off from reality. I want to do something more like acting or hosting."
Audrina also addressed rumors she's had plastic surgery to look picture perfect.
"They always ask me about that because of Heidi [Montag] and there's all these rumors and they all say I've had, like, six procedures, and I'm, like, 'Where do you get that?' Look at the pictures. I fluctuate in weight a lot," she said.
"And as far as my face, I'd never had anything done," she said.
When asked if she's had breast implants, Audrina said, "I don't like to talk about that."
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Reality Stars In Their Swimsuits
"Well, see I have this chest problem," she added. "My bone right here, it's higher on this side? It's pectoralis something, so I've always struggled with that. You could see they look different sizes all the time."
Colourful world of Col Gaddafi
As the world rejoices the eclipse of the Gaddafi empire, one inescapable fact is that the Libyan leader led a colourful life that ranged from female bodyguards to underground bunkers to mammoth palaces. And, of course Condoleezza Rice’s photo album. Take a look.
Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi arrives for the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Food Security Summit in Rome November 16, 2009. Government leaders and officials meet in Rome on for a three-day U.N. summit on how to fight global hunger, but anti-poverty campaigners dismissed the event as a missed opportunity.
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